The Big
Easy is the land of turtle soup and jambalaya, so
it can be tough for vegetarians to navigate its
culinary waters. Whenever I tell someone I’m a
vegetarian, they usually give me a funny look and
ask why I bother living in New Orleans. (“I’m an
alcoholic” is the acceptable reply.) Sure, Whole
Foods keeps our refrigerators stocked and good
pizza abounds – Reginelli’s, Slice and Louisiana
Pizza Kitchen leap to mind – but what about
stepping out? With the closure of veggie staple
Old Dog New Trick Café, it can be a challenge to
find a restaurant with more to offer vegans and
vegetarians than a few meat-free side dishes.
Where can we go?

Byblos Mediterranean
Cuisine is a great place to start. I was so
overwhelmed by the myriad vegetarian options that
the poor waitress asked our table several times if
we were ready to order. Each time, I’d look at her
with delighted bewilderment and apologize, “Not
yet – there’s so much to choose
from!”

Luckily, there is a vegetarian
platter ($8.95) for the indecisive that offers a
choice of four “favorites.” I chose the baba
ghanouj, rice pilaf (boring), mousaka, and cheese
pie (well worth the extra dollar). To round it
off, we added a cup of spinach and lentil soup
($2.95) and “Chehardy” fried eggplant ($4.95) with
tahini. The latter was a fortunate choice, because
the eggplant dishes at Byblos steal the show.
Improperly prepared, eggplant is tough and chewy,
but at Byblos, it melts in your mouth. The
Chehardy – long, thinly sliced strips of eggplant
lightly fried in 100% cholesterol-free vegetable
oil – was juicy and spectacular. The roasted
eggplant also shone through the baba ghanouj. The
mousaka/eggplant stew with sautéed vegetables in a
tomato-based sauce wasn’t big enough even though I
was quite full.

Yes, the cheese pie (feta
cheese, onions, herbs and spices baked in philo)
was as good as it sounds. The lentil soup could
have used some seasoning, but it was soothing
comfort food nevertheless. But truly, it’s all
about the eggplant at Byblos (and the belly
dancing).

Incidentally, for the true Middle
Eastern food fanatic, there are two other
excellent, more casual spots in town: Lebanon’s
Café and Mona’s Café. Both are B.Y.O. alcohol and
serve traditional favorites like hummus and
falafel, among many others.

Mona’s
Café is so legendary that it has four locations:
3901 Banks St. (482-7743); 3149 Calhoun St.
(861-2124); 504 Frenchmen St. (949-4115); 4126
Magazine St. (894-9800). Call individual locations
for hours (and specials!).

Meat-eating
friends are sometimes surprised when I suggest
going out for sushi, but they haven’t discovered
the simple pleasures of the avocado roll. In fact,
restaurants like Sake Cafe are even popular with
our vegan friends, since dairy is by no means a
central component of Japanese cooking. I started
with salty miso soup ($2.50) with tofu and
seaweed, and edamame ($3.95) – steamed, lightly
salted soybean pods that are chock full of
cancer-preventing isoflavins.

The agedashi
tofu ($3.95) – deep fried tofu – became soggy in
the tempura sauce. Eat it fast! The avocado roll
($3.25) had ripe, buttery avocado inside of sticky
rice and soft nori. The bean curd sushi ($3.25)
featured a tofu skin around rice – a bit sweet for
my taste, but I am a sodium fanatic, so take that
criticism with a grain of salt (ahem).

Breakfast is served all
day at Slim Goodies Diner, which is a beautiful
thing. The self-described “classic diner and a
vegetarian delight” is vegan friendly but not in a
“rabbit food” way. Take the Vegan Slammer ($8.50)
– hash browns covered with tofu scramble, smoked
tempeh, and vegetarian chili served with
multi-grain toast or a biscuit. I like mine with
Swiss melted on top, if for no other reason than
to hear the waiter yell to the chef “That’s Swiss
cheese on the Vegan!” (For the record, vegan
cheese is also available.)

Often, dishes at
Slim Goodies come prepared differently than the
menu suggests – no chili on the slammer, but with
cheese, or no caramelized onions on the Vegetable
Napoleon – but it’s so tasty that it just doesn’t
matter. The “not really nachos” are a great
hangover cure, incidentally; the good folks at
Slim Goodies substitute crispy French fries for
the tortilla chips. Not really healthy, but it can
really hit the spot. Be sure to say hi to the
resident pug that hangs out in front of their
retail shop next door.

La Fee Verte (620 Conti)
promotes itself as “vegan sensitive,” with the
motto “Herbivores and carnivores eating together.”
Since I’m an herbivore and my husband Bryan is a
carnivore, we thought it would be a perfect place
to spend our first wedding anniversary. Besides,
the stuffed red peppers – two roasted red peppers
stuffed with sautéed eggplant, Portobello
mushroom, zucchini and goat cheese served on a bed
of saffron rice – sounded too good to be true. So
we headed to the Quarter and Bryan ordered a
bottle of champagne. Here’s to another happy year
of herbivores and carnivores eating together.
(Call for hours, 525-8763)